Struggle for Resources Linked to Balochistan Unrest

QUETTA – A rocket attack on a main power transmission line linking two districts of Balochistan with the national power grid last week was not an isolated incident but part of a low intensity insurgency in the natural-resource-rich, yet least developed, southwestern province of Pakistan sandwiched between Iran and Afghanistan. Many militancy problems in Balochistan … Continue reading “Struggle for Resources Linked to Balochistan Unrest”

For a Scary Halloween, Read the Duelfer Report

America received a frightening jolt when the International Atomic Energy Agency announced that heavy-duty explosives perfectly suited for terrorist bombing attacks had gone missing from critical sites in Iraq. But a far more terrifying revelation was made in the Central Intelligence Agency’s publicly released Duelfer Report on Oct. 6. It took some effort, but anyone … Continue reading “For a Scary Halloween, Read the Duelfer Report”

A War We Can’t Win

"An uptick in airstrikes and other military moves points to an imminent showdown between U.S. forces and Sunni Muslim insurgents west of Baghdad – a decisive battle that could determine whether the campaign to bring democracy and stability to Iraq can succeed." The above quotation is the lead paragraph of an Associated Press dispatch. Note … Continue reading “A War We Can’t Win”

Endorsing Neo-Craziness?

On the eve of the election, our media elite are belatedly deluging us with important information. However, much of it is being delivered with neo-crazy ‘spin’. For example, the Washington Post tells us: “In the tumultuous first year after Sept. 11, 2001, President Bush confronted a deluge of classified threat reports about the spread of … Continue reading “Endorsing Neo-Craziness?”

Lost Weapons – and Minds?

As befits the week before one of the most bitterly-contested and emotional elections in recent memory – one in which the committed partisans on each side, many of whom seem more motivated by dislike of the other guy than by affection for their chosen champion, seem to think victory by the other side will mean … Continue reading “Lost Weapons – and Minds?”

Appeasing Israel

The collapse and seemingly imminent demise of Yasser Arafat once again draws our attention to the plight of the Palestinian people at the hands of their Israeli occupiers: just as the Jewish state keeps an entire people captive in the twin concentration camps of Gaza and the West Bank, so Arafat was himself incarcerated, physically … Continue reading “Appeasing Israel”

‘What After Arafat?’

JERUSALEM – A historic vote in Israel‘s parliament to withdraw from Gaza has been overshadowed by serious concern over the health of the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat. Just days after the Israeli press unanimously described the highly contested vote in parliament in favor of a withdrawal from Gaza as "historic," the event has been eclipsed … Continue reading “‘What After Arafat?’”

A Tale of Two Elections

Is there really much difference between John Kerry and George Bush when it comes to Iraq? George Bush’s remark that Kerry’s Iraq plan is the same as his own has some basis in truth, since neither Kerry nor Bush is willing to do the one thing that’s necessary to end the armed insurgency in Iraq: … Continue reading “A Tale of Two Elections”